Saturday, August 22, 2009

Radler

A Radler (German for "Bicyclist") is a mixed drink made with beer and soda pop. As such, it is a type of shandy. The Radler is popular in Germanophone communities in Europe and around the world, where it has a long history. It is traditionally made by mixing a light lemon-lime soda, such as Sprite or 7-Up with a medium-dark beer, but today it is commonly made with lighter beers. The "Dunkles Radler" or "Dark Radler" is still popular in Bavaria, though even there it must be ordered explicitly. Some guides recommend mixing the beer and soda in a 3:2 ratio, favoring the beer.

It is currently thought that the Radlermass originated towards the end of the nineteenth century in one of the then-popular socialist bicycle clubs, but the identity of the actual inventor is probably lost to history. Lena Christ describes the serving of Radlermasses around the year 1900 in her memoirs, published in 1912.

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